KALAMAZOO, MI – There is something about Zach Terrell that draws you in and keeps you watching.

Western Michigan University’s redshirt freshman quarterback from Fort Wayne, Ind., doesn’t have the prototypical size for a quarterback at 6-foot-1,210 pounds, professional arm strength or blazing speed, but Terrell has an infectious sense of composure about him that has been a valuable intangible in his steady improvement since taking over the starting job on Oct. 12 against Buffalo.

Terrell said he’s had to prepare better and work harder than his competition to become a Division I quarterback.

“A lot of it comes from preparation,” he said. “It’s a God-given thing for me, too. …It’s just hard work. Not having biggest arm or being the tallest or fastest, you really have to outwork people. A lot of it is also your mind and being able to slow things down.”

P.J. Fleck

WMU head coach P.J. Fleck said the Broncos have responded well to Terrell’s demeanor.

“He’s a very confident and poised kid and I think when you’re looking for a quarterback composure is the intangible you can’t measure, but you look for and that’s what he has,” Fleck said. “He makes good decisions and confident decisions. He’s a good game manager. He doesn’t get too high or too low.”

Terrell has played in six game this season with three starts. He has completed 82 of 156 passes (54 percent) for 968 yards and seven touchdowns to go along with six interceptions.

He will make his fourth start Saturday when the Broncos (1-8, 1-4 Mid-American Conference) travel to Ypsilanti for a 1 p.m. game against Eastern Michigan (1-8, 0-5).

While Fleck and offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca praised his composure and confidence, Terrell said it’s the trust he has in his teammates that’s been a big factor in his development and his first win as a starter, a 31-30 win at Massachusetts on Oct. 26.

WMU and UMass were tied at 24 apiece in the fourth quarter at Gillette Stadium, the house that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady built, when the Minutemen brought an all-out blitz to stop the Broncos, but Terrell made them pay.

Terrell, who did not throw an interception in the game, read the cover zero defense, made the protection changes with the offensive line, took the snap, stepped up and delivered a strike on a hot route to Corey Davis, who scampered in from 54 yards out for the game-winning touchdown.

“It’s really all trust,” Terrell said about the play. “When they’re bringing that many guys it’s hard to not speed things up in your head. You really have to trust your teammates. On that pass to Corey, he wasn’t even out of his break yet but I knew where he was going to be because we’ve run that route so many times in practice.”

Western Michigan's quarterback Zach Terrell reacts after a play in a game against Buffalo on Oct. 12. Steph Anderson Chambers | MLive.com

Terrell took over the starting job when senior Tyler Van Tubbergen went down with a shoulder injury on Oct. 5 at Toledo.

According to Fleck, Van Tubbergen is close to being 100 percent but Terrell hasn’t done anything to deserve to be pulled.

It’s an interesting situation for TVT, as he started six games last year in place of senior Alex Carder, but was benched after a 42-31 win at Central Michigan on Nov. 3 to bump WMU’s record to 4-6. Carder started the final two games, which were losses.

Fleck praised Van Tubbergen’s acceptance of the situation this season.

“I think Tyler is a very mature young man and it shows with what he wants to do in life in being a lawyer,” Fleck said. “We’ve had a talk in my office about it and he even told me. He said, ‘Hey coach, I went through it last year. It got done to me and I don’t want anyone else to have that feeling. He deserves to play.’ To have a kid do that says a lot. He could go two ways: He could tank it and bring the team down or he could continue to coach and inspire and prepare. He’s one play away from playing again.”

Terrell was a roommate of TVT’s when he came to WMU in the summer last year and called the senior a mentor and great friend.

“Seeing him go down wasn’t easy,” Terrell said. “That wasn’t how I wanted to get the position. He had earned it. He’s helped me on the sideline and given me pointers. He also pushes me in practice to get better.”

Kirk Ciarrocca

Ciarrocca said he’s been pleased with Terrell’s ability to slow things down and make the right decisions.

“To be a good quarterback and an effective decision maker, the game has to feel like it’s in slow motion for you,” Ciarrocca explained. “What he’s been able to do is through his experiences he’s been able to slow the game down. I think he’s able to relax more. The more experience he gets, the more plays he gets and the more time he gets he’s able to recognize things and become a better decision maker.”

Heading into his fourth start, Ciarrocca said Terrell is still in the “infancy” stage of his career, but WMU’s offensive coordinator said he’s excited to see what the confident youngster can do in the future.

Fleck was hesitant to say Terrell has gained a leg up on true freshman Cam Thomas and incoming freshman Chance Stewart, for the starting job next year, but the first-year coach said a lot could be determined in the spring.

There is possibility that Stewart could enroll at WMU for the spring semester and join the Broncos, though he has not yet announced a decision publicly and Fleck cannot comment on unsigned players, per NCAA rules.

“It all depends who’s here in the spring,” Fleck said of Terrell holding on to the starting job. “ If no one comes early, then he’s going to have a lot of reps in the spring. He’s going to have an advantage. Coming in as a true freshman and playing quarterback is a very tough thing to do.”